Super Powereds: Year 2 (59 page)

“How... sweet.” Camille barely got the words out as pain rippled through her. Either by mercy or sadism, Sasha backed off and allowed her to struggle to her feet once more. “I can only imagine what you’d do to someone who was actually dating your ex.”

“I don’t think it’s an issue we’ll have to deal with soon. I’ve already decided I want him back.”

“No? And here I thought you were kicking my ass for the cardio.” It was funny; for the first time she could remember, Camille wasn’t feeling self-conscious about her words. Maybe it was the pain, or maybe it was just a side effect of real battle. Either way, she found herself staring back at Sasha without any sense of shyness whatsoever. If anything, she wanted to confront her all the more. “Of course, that’s if he takes you back.”

“Don’t kid yourself, honey. You might have that damsel in distress thing that he eats up, but you could never be real competition for me.” To illustrate the point, Sasha closed the gap between them and delivered a series of quick blows to Camille’s torso. The small girl stayed standing longer than anyone would have expected, but a punch that shattered one of her ribs finally sent her back to the floor in a coughing fit of pain.

* * *

“I can’t believe you did this to her.” Vince’s hands were gripped into fists, the tips of his fingers turning white as they pressed tightly against the flesh of his palm. Had it been anyone else, Nick would have been truly concerned that he might swing at him. Since it was Vince, Nick was only moderately worried.

“Did this to her? The other team picked the opponent, you know.”

“But you’re the one who sent her out there alone!” Vince turned away from the fight to jab his best friend in the shoulder, eyes blazing with accusation. Nick stared right back at him, the cool glass covering his eyes a sharp contrast to fiery rage echoing through his friend’s.

“Do you realize how fucking condescending you sound when you say things like that?”

Vince was momentarily taken aback; he hadn’t expected Nick to go on the offensive. Nick took the opportunity to press on.

“Camille is not some puppy or flower to be watched over. She said it herself, she’s training to be a Hero. You think that path is paved with rainbows? It’s built on pain, sweat, and failure. Getting your ass kicked is part of this process. She knows it, I know it, and when it applies to anyone but females you know it too. Stop treating that girl with deference and treat her with the respect that a fellow warrior deserves.”

Vince glowered, but the wind had been plundered from his sails. Nick was right: Vince hadn’t objected when he volunteered to go up against Chad. He’d had faith his friend could handle whatever happened. It was wrong to put any less confidence in Camille. Nonetheless, as he turned back to what could barely be called a fight, Vince felt his hands tighten again. He had to watch her, he just didn’t have to like it.

* * *

Camille hacked up a phlegmy wad of blood before staggering to her feet. She was visibly swaying now; one of Sasha’s many attacks had probably injured her inner ear. The fight had been going on for only two minutes, but Camille felt like she was already at her breaking point. She had to end this, and soon.

“I’m impressed you keep getting up, even if I’m not sure what you’re expecting to accomplish,” Sasha complimented.

“Of course not. You wouldn’t understand why I can’t just lay down and lose. People like you have never been weak, or bullied. You’ve spent your whole life able to outrun or barrel through any problem.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

“Not for you, I guess. But there are lessons that come from being knocked down, the most important of which is learning how to get back up.” Camille spat a pink loogie to the ground, her mouth still leaking blood that was beginning to coat her teeth. “That’s why you don’t deserve to be with Vince. Things got tough and you ran away.”

“He lied to me.”

“Boo fucking hoo. You made him feel like shit and broke his heart. He got through it, though, because Vince is more like me than you. He’s been weak. He’s been battered. He always gets back up. And so will I. So do your worst, bitch. It won’t change the fact that you blew it with the best man, hell, the best person, either of us will ever meet.”

The words were barely out of her mouth before Sasha’s punch collided with her teeth. This time the super-speed girl didn’t stop when Camille went down; instead she kept pressing the attack, smashing her opponent’s face and body over and over again.

“Enough,” Professor Fletcher’s voice blared through the room. “The winner of this match is Sasha Foster.”

“Hear that?” Sasha said, still clutching the small girl’s jacket collar in her hand. “I won.”

Camille looked back at her, then past her, to something over Sasha’s shoulder. Despite her face being coated in blood, a smile was still visible on Camille’s busted lips.

“Did you?”

Sasha turned to follow Camille’s gaze. What stared back at her was Vince, watching from the team room with an expression Sasha had never seen on his face before: horror. Horror mixed with disgust. All of it aimed directly at her.

Camille saw realization dawn across her opponent’s face and felt a soft glow of accomplishment. It was her last sensation for some time, as the pain finally caught up to her and she slipped into sweet unconsciousness.

115.

There was a small break before the next match while Professor Fletcher delivered Camille to the infirmary for healing. Both teams were locked in their room, ostensibly so that neither could receive outside influence. In reality it was a precaution to stop them from going at it without supervision. So far everyone had kept their cool, but Professor Fletcher knew that watching a teammate get pummeled could provoke some unexpected reactions. By the time he returned and was ready to resume the competition, Team Two had already selected Will as their nominee.

He was only in the cell for a few seconds before Alex entered, giving an awkward wave of greeting to his friend.

“Let’s not try and imitate them, if possible,” Will said in lieu of a hello.

“Agreed. I think both of us are smart enough to know when to call it quits.”

“True. Then again, I would have said the same for Camille.” Will was working hard to keep his emotions in check. Rooming with Thomas, Stella, and Violet meant Camille was a frequent guest in his home. In spite of being on different teams, he had taken no joy in watching Sasha administer such a ruthless beating. Not for the first time he found himself a bit thankful that his ability didn’t require getting too up close and personal with a foe.

“She’s a strange one,” Alex said. “Most of the time I can feel her terror from yards away. But when things get truly scary, that’s when she practically explodes with fearless determination.”

“We’ll all go visit her in the infirmary when this is done.”

“Good idea.”

“Students, are you ready to begin?” The voice crackled from the PA, and both boys nodded their agreement rather than respond verbally. “Then this match has begun.”

Alex struck first, telekinetically smashing Will back into the wall. He then pinned his opponent to the ground under a sustained blast of force. Will might have all manner of technology at his disposal, but Alex had no intention of giving him a chance to use it.

“You’re trying to make me surrender,” Will grunted from under the invisible bulk pressing upon him.

“As painlessly as possible,” Alex confirmed. He didn’t want to hurt Will, but his team couldn’t take many more losses. One more and all they could do was tie. Two more and it was done.

“Good plan,” Will complimented. “Unfortunately, you got the wrong opponent.” Will made a sort of clicking noise against his teeth, hammering out a strange sequence of notes. Alex’s vision blurred and his concentration disintegrated as the room filled with a high-pitched squeal. The floor seemed to be trembling as Alex fell to his knees and pressed his hands over his ears.

“Sonic taser,” Will explained as he pulled himself to his feet. He tapped a small device on his belt that had a small LED light glowing green. “I installed a verbal switch for just such an occasion. Good thing I did, too. Otherwise you would have trounced me.”

Alex was shaking now; he felt like his bones were going to vibrate out of his skin. It took almost more than he had just to mumble a strained, “How?”

“If you’re wondering how you can hear me, it’s because the sound isn’t actually that loud. It’s merely precisely calibrated to attack various parts of the inner ear. If you’re asking how I can stay unaffected, it’s because I put dampeners in my own ears before I ever came to the cell. You really should give up, by the way. While this shouldn’t do any damage that can’t be healed, the effects will continue to get worse the longer you are exposed.”

He was telling the truth. Alex could barely handle being on his knees anymore. Much longer and he would collapse to the floor in a curled up ball. That would mean losing, and they’d already given up two fights. Alex could feel the weight of the others’ gazes, their hopes resting squarely on his shoulders. He had one shot to turn this around; the only question was if he could manage enough concentration to pull it off. Alex forced himself to take slow, deep breaths. It wasn’t easy: each gasp was like swallowing magma as the sound seemed to shred across his lungs. He kept going. This was what he had trained for. This was what separated people with powers from Heroes.

The only one more surprised than Will when Alex began to rise from the floor was Alex himself. He’d practiced this technique a few times in private; however, this was the first real trial it was getting. His body began to settle down, though he’d likely need a session with a healer before he was truly back to normal.

“How...” This time it was Will’s turn to ask a question in shock. His confusion only grew at the crunching sounds from his waist. His sonic taser fell to the ground uselessly, its final death note briefly ringing across the concrete interior before sputtering out completely. Will felt himself slammed to the ground once more, but this time the mental weight was so heavy he had to make an effort to breathe.

“You said it was unfortunate I got you as an opponent; well, I can say the same right back to you,” Alex declared. “I spent almost a year dating a girl who can enchant people with her song. That sort of thing got me wondering if there was a way to negate that type of ability. I figured that if I could reflect all the sound waves coming at me then that might do it. It’s really hard; I’d never have thought I could pull it off in actual combat.”

“But... telekinetics... can only... touch things... that are solid,” Will wheezed out from the ground.

“Good thing I’m not telekinetic then. So, how long do I have to keep you pinned before you do like we promised?”

Will’s excellent mind raced through a myriad of options. He still had a few gizmos that could turn things around, but none of them could be reached or aimed while he was pinned. Besides, if Alex really could knock aside something as intangible as a sound wave, Will wasn’t sure anything in his arsenal would be able to connect. No, there was only one logical conclusion to reach, and Will Murray was a logical man.

“I... concede.”

“The winner of this match is Alex Griffen,” Professor Fletcher said, making the first victory of Team One official.

Alex released the pinning pressure and helped his friend up from the ground. “Sorry I broke your thingie.”

“A risk of bringing tools into battle,” Will replied. “Besides, it gives me the chance to make some improvements.”

The two shook hands and departed, leaving the cell waiting for its next set of competitors.

116.

“Thank you, sweet heaven,” Nick mumbled as he watched Alex and Will leave the cell.

“Feeling worried?” Alice asked. The others had drifted off to greet Alex at his triumphant return, but she had remained by Nick as he stared into the now empty space.

“I was feeling screwed. For a moment there I thought all was lost.”

“Don’t be so dramatic. We could have still pulled off a tie.”

Nick shook his head. “If they’d gotten that match they would have shifted strategy. Played it more conservatively until they got the next win they needed. We could have gotten maybe one win out of it all, if that. Now they don’t have that lock yet. Chad will play aggressively, trying to win rather than trying to last.”

“How can you know that?”

“Because Chad’s a winner in charge of a team of winners. They’re chasing victory because they’re used to capturing it.”

Alice chuckled lightly. “So that makes us a team of losers?”

“I prefer to think of it as a team of people who have had ample opportunity to build character through adversity.”

“Classy,” Alice complimented.

Mary meandered over and glanced at the two of them. Although she felt a bit guilty interrupting given the way Alice’s brain was tingling with cheer, there was business to attend to.

“One win is good, now who do we send out to get another?” Mary asked.

“I’m thinking the two lovely ladies in front of me,” Nick replied.

Mary and Alice exchanged an uncertain glance.

“Oh, don’t give me that,” Nick continued. “We said we’d do a duo in one of our rounds. This is the time for it.”

“I don’t disagree with you there, but why us?” Alice asked.

“Subterfuge,” Nick said. “Mary, can you do what Alex just did? Hold someone down without seriously injuring them?”

“Not unless they’ve got enhanced endurance like Roy or Chad. I’m a little too strong for it otherwise, and Alex has better fine control than I do.”

“Exactly.”

“Exactly what?”

“Exactly; you can’t use Alex’s technique. I know it, you know it, and now Alice knows it. Guess who doesn’t know it? Chad’s team. Alice, our little gravity guru, could probably replicate it so well that no one would be able to tell the difference. Not unless they’d experienced both - but thankfully Will is unable to make a return performance.”

“Oh, you son of a bitch. You want me to keep acting helpless, even after I’ve worked my ass off to finally contribute to this team,” Alice accused.